Microsoft yesterday (yes, on Sunday), announced that Windows Home Server is shipping. Microsoft unveiled Windows Home Server, formerly known by the code name Quattro, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. The software lets home Windows PC users share and store multimedia and other files, as well as install security to protect files on a home network. (Here’s something to chuckle about — Microsoft describes the product as a “stay-at-home” server. As opposed to what? A career server that travels a lot? A laptop server that you take with you to Starbucks? )
Because Windows Home Server is just software, the average consumer will want to buy it bundled onto hardware with lots of storage for fat media files. So, several third-parties announced wares for it.
Available now, the Tranquil PC T7-HSA Tranquil Harmony Home Server is a small, quiet and energy-efficient solution with 500GB and 1TB options.
The Velocity Micro NetMagix HomeServer, (pictured right) is also available now. It is a small storage unit that can fit just about anywhere because it can be adjusted to be in a horizontal or vertical position. It offers 1 TB of expandable storage capacity.
More options
If you want to wait, you’ll have another option by the end of November. Microsoft announced that online consumer electronics retailers are taking “pre-orders” for the HP MediaSmart Server, which runs on Windows Home Server and will ship later this month. Retailers taking orders include Amazon.com, Best Buy.com, Buy.com, Circuit City.com and CompUSA.com. The HP MediaSmart Server gives users remote access to share their digital photos and home movies over a broadband connection. It also stores and serves digital music and films.
If you can wait until after the new year, three more companies said they will be shipping Windows Home Server boxes in early 2008, too.
Iomega will offer the HomeCenter Server featuring one 550GB hard drive and four additional drive bays.
If you need more power, Life|ware Life|storage will be offering what they dub as “enterprise-class” capabilities, in the form of their Life|ware Entertainment and Automation Server for home media management. These products are specially designed to make your stay-at-home server feel discontented, making it wonder what it would be like if it could find a job in a Big Enterprise Datacenter.
- The MAXDATA Belinea o.center, is an energy-efficient media manager, which supports up to four hot pluggable SATA hard drives.
Home server reviews
Reviews of Windows Home Server have been surprisingly favorable.
Gizmodo didn’t want to like it and wound up loving it. (Includes lots of screen shots)
- ARS Technica warns that there is nothing about this product that a sly SMB can use – and certainly not enterprise use, despite the appealing under $200 price tag. The review is generally favorable, but includes a list of warnings on what not to do with it (such as, why you should not add a RAID array to the storage pool – which, btw, Microsoft warns users not to do).
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